A woman has admitted killing her newborn baby 27 years after he was found in woodland near Gulliver’s World.
Known as ‘Baby Callum’, a dog walker found the infant’s body wrapped in binbags near the Warrington theme park in Cheshire on March 14, 1998. He was a few hours old when he died.
More than 26 years later, a woman from Liverpool – Joanne Sharkey – was charged with his murder and of concealing the birth of a child.
When the 56-year-old appeared in court today, she pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted the lesser charge of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
The prosecution told the judge they accepted these pleas and said they would no longer pursue a charge of murder.
Prosecutor Jonas Hankin KC said: ‘The prosecution is in receipt of psychological and psychiatric expert opinion.
‘The psychiatric evidence reaches a consensus view that all the elements of diminished responsibility are supported.
‘In plain terms, this killing is impossible to understand absent of a moderate to severe mental illness which substantially impaired Joanne Sharkey’s ability to form rational judgement and exercise self control.’
Joanne Sharkey, of Denham Close in Croxteth, will be sentenced on March 21.
The DNA of more than 500 women and schoolgirls was tested, hundreds of people were interviewed,and police visited surrounding houses, hospitals and GP practices – but for 25 years, Baby Callum and his parents remained unidentified.
He was named after the Callands area where he was found, and he was buried in Warrington Cemetery after a funeral attended by 150 people.
Local residents – strangers to the baby – raised money for a headstone inscribed with the words: ‘Baby Callum, precious child of God. Laid to rest July 27, 1998. With love, from the people of Warrington.’
The mystery of his identity was solved after the ‘cold’ case was reviewed in January 2022.
Previously, no matches had been found on the Police DNA Database. But since the last searches were carried out, a relative of Baby Callum and his mother had been added to the system.
This led police to arrest Ms Sharkey and the baby’s father on July 28, 2023. Both were released on bail.
Ms Sharkey was re-arrested less than a year later and was subsequently charged.
‘It was determined that Sharkey had concealed her pregnancy, given birth at her home address and caused the death of the baby in the following hours’, police said.
‘The baby was found to have wads of tissue in his mouth and throat.’
The father had been unaware of the pregnancy, birth or death of Baby Callum, so no further action was taken.
Detective Inspector Hannah Friend, said: ‘The case of Baby Callum shocked the local community 27 years ago, with residents coming together to give him a proper funeral and try to help identify the person responsible for his death.
‘Despite his life being cruelly cut short, he has not been forgotten, and his memory has lived on in the local area for the past few decades.
‘Likewise, our efforts to locate who did this to him have not wavered and the case was subject to regular reviews and refreshed searches of the Police DNA Database.
‘It was thanks to this that a familial DNA sample was identified, and following a thorough investigation and multiple enquiries, Sharkey was identified, arrested and later charged in relation to Baby Callum’s death.
‘While this guilty plea today will bring some closure to what has been a lengthy and complex investigation, ongoing for almost 30 years, the result will not bring back Baby Callum who should have had his whole life ahead of him.
‘I would like to thank the team of officers and staff across the entirety of this investigation whose dedication has meant someone has now been held accountable for an innocent baby’s death.
‘Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this case.’
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